“Wrong Side of the Storm” by Bryna Butler

Summary

“When a mysterious, new player wields a deadly storm to force the men in black into lockdown, teens Eric and Bridget are suddenly separated. With Bridget on the inside and Eric on the outside, the two race to beat the clock and open the Agency doors before the suits make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the base from falling into the wrong hands.”

Source: Blurb on back of book

“The Necessity Duplicator (ND) module for his BRAND was extra, but according to him, worth every penny. Besides without it, his BRAND would just be a BRA.” (pg 19)

My Thoughts on the Book

I confess. I’m not a big fan of first person narrative stories. I’m even a huge R. L. Stine fan, and I’m still not thrilled with first person. Third person narratives make me want to curl up by the fire with a hot mug of cocoa. I feel like I’m being told a story, and I love that feeling. I don’t have that with first person.

This book, well, it’s written in first person. And I love it!!! Butler’s crazy imagination won me over to the dark side. “Wrong Side of the Storm” is book 2 in her Mothman Mysteries series.

Character-wise, she does a spin on the Mothman that catches you off guard, makes you say “gross” and leaves you reading to the end, not wanting to put it down.

The characters are fun and believable. I especially liked Duey. With him, Butler spinned Dr Who episode 9, series 4, “Forest of the Dead” in a really cool way. If you’re a Whovian – you’ll love it! Not saying anymore on that because I don’t want to ruin your fun.

Then there’s Bridget. She’s a high school gal surrounded by guys and appears to have a crush on whoever might be in the room. At least that’s my take on it. She reminds me of one of my cousins when we were in high school. She had the main guy, and then there were tempting side guys.

In Bridget’s case, her heartthrobs are a couple hundred years older than her. Not to mention, some other interesting factors. You’ll have to read the book.

Warner is her guardian and Mothman’s handler. Both think he’s bossy, and so do I.

Chapter titles are creative and fun, and Butler switches between Bridget’s and Mothman’s POV with each chapter.

The plot is creative with enough twists to keep you on your toes and wondering what will happen next.

The only problem I had with the story was Mothman being over 200 years old, and when things got tough he had a “what-would-Bridget-do” mentality. It didn’t really go with his age. But! I also started with book 2, and perhaps the first book (which I bought after reading this one) will explain why. 🙂

All in all, it’s an excellent YA novel! Full of fun, adventure, crazy nicknames, and suspense. If you love cryptids, vampires, aliens, etc., you’re really going to enjoy this book! Click here to check it out!